Pauline Hanson threatens NACC referral over Anthony Albanese staffing cuts

Pauline Hanson has accused Anthony Albanese of breaching longstanding conventions around the allocation of parliamentary staff and is threatening to lodge a complaint with the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and Senator Malcolm Roberts hold a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra in February. NewsWire / Martin Ollman

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Pauline Hanson has accused Anthony Albanese of breaching longstanding conventions around the allocation of parliamentary staff and is threatening to lodge a complaint with the National Anti-Corruption Commission, after One Nation’s staffing allocation was effectively halved this week.

While staffing allocations for other crossbenchers such as Jacqui Lambie were unchanged, Senator Hanson and her three fellow One Nation senators were informed through media reports on Tuesday that they would receive four personal staff across their ranks.

This compares to Senator Hanson and One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts being assigned two personal staff each in the last term of parliament.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, seen by The Australian, Senator Hanson said the government’s decision on staffing, and the way the government communicated the changes, had left her staff “deeply distressed”.

“Despite One Nation doubling its representation in the Senate following the 2025 federal election, the party’s allocation of personal staff remains at four. This is a notional halving of our staffing resources per senator,” she said in the letter.

“To make matters worse, our offices were not consulted nor informed through official channels. Instead, we discovered the staffing decision via media reports. This was not only a failure of process but also deeply distressful to both my staff and Senator Roberts’ staff, who have worked under pressure for years and deserved better than to learn of their future in such a way.”

Senator Hanson said Labor’s decision placed remaining staff “at risk of burnout, health issues, and workplace harm”.

“My office has made several attempts to have a serious discussion with the crossbench liaison within your office. Despite repeated outreach, there has been a noticeable lack of urgency and a failure to return calls. This has further compounded the disrespect felt by our offices,” she said.

“Senators (David) Pocock, Lambie and (Tammy) Tyrrell have had no changes to their staffing numbers. Senator (Ralph) Babet has reportedly lost one staffer, while Senator (Fatima) Payman’s allocation stands at zero. While I recognise political differences exist, there appears to be no fair or consistent rationale for these disparities.

“It seems reasonable to assume that these unfair staffing allocations are politically and personally motivated.”

Senator Hanson cited a 2020 case in Queensland where premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was referred to the Crime and Corruption Commission and found to be in contempt of parliament after threatening to strip Katter’s Australian Party MPs of staff for political reasons.

“While this occurred in a state jurisdiction, the underlying principle remains the same: staffing decisions must not be used as a tool for political punishment or to diminish the functioning of elected representatives,” she said.

Anthony Albanese. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“In light of the above, I request a meeting to discuss this matter before I consider referring it to the National Anti-Corruption Commission and the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission for formal investigation.”

Referrals to the NACC, which was launched in mid-2023, are able to be made by anyone over any issue. It is then the decision of the commissioner whether to investigate a matter.

Senator Hanson pointed to the “Set the Standard” report by sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins, which found that long and irregular work hours in commonwealth parliamentary workplaces pose significant risks to physical and mental health.

She added that the decision “raises serious concerns under the Behaviour Code for Australian Parliamentarians”.

Under the code, parliamentarians must be treated with respect, while MPs as employers must play a “leadership role” in fostering healthy and safe workplaces.

“Halving staffing resources without consultation undermines our ability to maintain a safe and sustainable work environment, particularly during sitting periods and peak workloads,” Senator Hanson said.

“Staff in both One Nation offices were not treated with courtesy or respect in the process or outcome of this decision.”

One Nation’s concerns follow Mr Albanese being criticised last term by teal MPs for the way he allocated staff, with the government seeking to make more resources available through the Parliamentary Library to bridge resourcing gaps.

In response to the concerns around staffing after the May election, which included outcry from the Coalition after seeing 20 shadow ministerial staff cut, a Labor spokesman said “it is routine practice to revise staff allocations in a new parliamentary term”.

“Staffing allocations are made based on a range of considerations, including demonstrated need and individual circumstances,” he said.

The government also pointed to the fact that electorate office staff – which are separate to the personal staff who do work for MPs and senators in Parliament House – would be increased from 10 to 20 for One Nation after the election of two extra senators.